Wilhelm Wundts Psychology: Judgment Essay -- Wilhelm Wundt Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt's Psychology: Judgment It is almost impossible to write historically informed essays about any given topic in modern psychology without making reference to the work of Wilhelm Wundt. In part, this is because he produced a tremendous amount of written work (over 53,735 published pages1), and because he is widely regarded as the first experimental psychologist.2 So, it’s no surprise that Wundt has something to say about the psychology of judgment. Given the historical context in which his work took place, however, you might be surprised to learn that Wundt was keenly aware of both the problems with traditional associationist accounts of psychology and the temptations of psychologism. His system of psychology, while acknowledging the associative characteristics of some types of thought, takes pains to stress the non-additive nature of higher cognitive acts and fights to preserve the independence of psychology (and the rest of the â€Å"special sciences,† including logic and ethics) from physiolo gy. In this paper, I’ll briefly review the basics of Wundt’s approach, detail the neo-Humean roots of his psychology, discuss how he attempts to embellish those roots with some apperceptive greenery, and summarize his position regarding psychologisms.3 While Wundt’s motives are to be admired (†¦and despite his historical significance), I'll conclude that his attempt to be true to the physiological roots of the psychology of judgment while still respecting its ultimate independence vis-à  -vis logic was a failure.4 First, the basics. In his Principles of Physiological Psychology, Wundt lays down the outline of a psychology that will be constructed using experimental techniques analogous to those of physiology (famously, a rigorous ... ...h the individual mind with habits, inclinations, archetypes, and stereotypical modes of perception and cognition. But these influences from without must work on those internal principles and laws of thought that comprise ‘the universal characteristics of humanity’† (p. 161). 12 Wundt emphasizes the importance of education for conditioning the will in a logical manner: â€Å"Rather must education pay most attention to that inner volition which is occupied with ordered thinking. To make this strong, to make this able to resist the distracting play of associations, is its most important and also one of its most difficult tasks† (Introduction, p. 147). 13 Introduction, pp. 148-149. 14 Lectures, p. 314. 15 Robinson, p. 167, quoting from the Lectures, p. 365. 16 Robinson, p. 172. 17 Wellek (1967), encyclopedia entry on Wundt, Wilhelm, p. 350.